diagnostics Article Prevalence and Impact of Reported Drug Allergies among Rheumatology Patients Shirley Chiu Wai Chan , Winnie Wan Yin Yeung, Jane Chi Yan Wong, Ernest Sing Hong Chui, Matthew Shing Him Lee, Ho Yin Chung, Tommy Tsang Cheung, Chak Sing Lau and Philip Hei Li * Division of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Department of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital, Pokfulam, Hong Kong;
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[email protected] (C.S.L.) * Correspondence:
[email protected]; Tel.: +852-2255-3348 Received: 28 October 2020; Accepted: 7 November 2020; Published: 9 November 2020 Abstract: Background: Drug allergies (DA) are immunologically mediated adverse drug reactions and their manifestations depend on a variety of drug- and patient-specific factors. The dysregulated immune system underpinning rheumatological diseases may also lead to an increase in hypersensitivity reactions, including DA. The higher prevalence of reported DA, especially anti-microbials, also restricts the medication repertoire for these already immunocompromised patients. However, few studies have examined the prevalence and impact of reported DA in this group of patients. Methods: Patients with a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), spondyloarthritis (SpA), or systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) were recruited from the rheumatology clinics in a tertiary referral hospital between 2018 and 2019. Prevalence and clinical outcomes of reported DA among different rheumatological diseases were calculated and compared to a cohort of hospitalized non-rheumatology patients within the same period.